Shooting on Front St. at N. Church, the film crew was making a short documentary about the replica ship Onrust as part of a Community Projects program that will feature GMC vehicles in five “real-life community service projects” for their 2012 catalog and retailing efforts. Don is rightly proud of the Onrust project’s selection for the program, and his posting has the story, plus lots of links to relevant GMC materials. You can also read about the program at GMC Community Projects page on Facebook.

In a press release, GMC explains:

“GMC is providing vehicles to select local organizations and individuals that are committed to actively using their talent and innovative spirit to make a long-lasting impact on their community. . . . . Five community projects were carefully selected to bring vehicles and people together and make those local projects even more successful. We’re proud of this work and you’ll see these special projects throughout our marketing efforts this year.”

At his TU Blog [http://tinyurl.com/GMCOnrust], Don noted on May 11 that: “Over the last three weeks, film makers from GMC were in Schenectady, Glenville and Albany shooting volunteers of the Onrust Project as they worked on preparing the ship for this year’s work schedule to complete the construction of the interior of the ship for museum and classroom use.”

GMC provided short term loans of vehicles to the five projects, including:

“Three Sierras and two Acadias to haul supplies for The Onrust Project in Schenectady, N.Y. The Onrust, five years in the making, is a replica of the first Dutch yacht built in America using authentic 17th century Dutch building techniques. When finished The Onrust will be a floating museum and classroom for teaching the early European history of the Northeastern United States;”

A white Acadia Denalia was parked in front of 17 Front St. and was the focus of the crew’s filming after the action scene on Front Street was completed. As suggested at the top of this post, I bet Symon Schermerhoorn would have loved to take the Acadia for his 20-mile ride to Albany in 1690 warning of the French and Indian attack. Naturally, Mrs. S. would have warned her wounded husband not to bleed on the leather seats.

The Mohawk River and Riverside Park form the northern boundary of the Stockade Historic District, in Schenectady, NY. In photos taken from his block near Cucumber Alley and on short strolls around the neighborhood, David Giacalone presents views of and from the Mohawk, Riverside Park, and the Stockade -- with sunsets, special events, seasonal sights, and surprises.